Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
Post-Game Interviews:
-Zimmerman & Cline (0:42)
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's held St. Olaf to an unearned run on five hits in a doubleheader sweep, 3-1 and 4-0, on Tuesday, April 24, in Collegeville.
The 4-0 shutout is the first for SJU against the Oles (11-22, 4-12 MIAC) since Andy Schneider's no-hitter, a 10-0 victory, on April 11, 1998, in Collegeville.
SJU (22-10, 10-4 MIAC) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Juniors Joey Long (Belvidere, Ill./Rockford Boylan) and Connor Cline (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) hit back-to-back doubles to put the Johnnies on the scoreboard, 1-0. Cline advanced to third on a groundout to third by classmate Max Forster (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) and scored when the throw from the first baseman across the diamond to third went wide.
Sophomore Luke Larson (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) gave SJU a 3-0 with a solo home run to right field, the first of collegiate career, to start the bottom of the second.
The three-run lead was enough for senior Hayden Zimmerman (New Richmond, Wis.), who improved to 5-2 with the complete game victory. He allowed the single run, unearned, in the top of the fifth. Zimmerman induced 14 groundball outs, struck out two and scattered three hits to lower his ERA .30 points. He now boasts 2.00 ERA with a .191 opponent batting average in 54 innings pitched (nine starts).
Cline followed suit in game two, allowing two hits with six strikeouts in six innings of work. Long pitched the scoreless seventh to preserve the shutout.
Sophomore Dylan Graves (Mora, Minn.) started the third with a double and scored on a two-out single from freshman Aaron Pfaff (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral). Forster singled with one out in the fourth and scored on a line-drive double off the bat of freshman Billy Gregg (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins). Gregg came around to score, unearned, on a fielding error by the third baseman. Forster ended the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Cline improved to 6-3 and lowered his ERA .34 points to 2.80 on the year.
The Johnnies travel to face Gustavus Adolphus for a 1 p.m. doubleheader this Saturday, April 28, in St. Peter.
Notes: The sweep, coupled with the 2011 sweep in Collegeville, is the first back-to-back sweeps at home for the Johnnies against STO since 1996 and 1998, though the 1996 games were played at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud…all of the 1996 home games were played at Dick Putz while the sprinkler system was installed at Saint John's Field…SJU has now won five of its last six games against St. Olaf…the Johnnies were just 2-20 against the Oles from 2000-09 (though 14 of the 22 games were decided by two runs or less, a 1-13 record for SJU)…Zimmerman and Cline now combine for an 11-5 record with 93 strikeouts, a 2.40 ERA, a .197 opponent batting average and a 1.13 WHIP in 108.2 innings pitched (20 appearances, 18 starts) overall…the two are now 6-2 with a 2.44 ERA and .201 opponent batting average in 48 MIAC innings (eight starts).
